Improvement in oil-cups for machinery



lUnirse STATES PATENT FFICE.'

rrnoiiins w. eoDwiN, orironrsiiiourri, VIRGINIA.

lMPROVEMENT IN OIL-CUPS FOR MACHINERY.

`Specification forming Apart ot' Letters Patent N0. 40.03 :5. dated September 22, 1863.

vTo all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS W. GoDwIN, of Portsmouth, in the county of Norfolk, in the State ot Virginia, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Machinery Oil- Cups; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, which represents a sectional elevation of my improved oil-cup, with the letters of reference marked thereon.

In this drawing, A represents the upper reservoir, into which the oil is poured from the can, and whence it passes into the lower reservoir, B. From B it ilows through the apertures I I into the box K, from which it continues its course around and past the valve L into the box S. If the valve L is in the position shown in the drawing, the oil passes directly from the box S into the tube (Land through that to its destination; but it' the valve L is depressed to the bottom ofthe box S the oil moves from the space around the valve, through the passages m m m to the center of the valve, where it meets and enters the tube C. It is to control the passage of the oil, as 'above described, under pressure, from the reservoir A to the tube C, that the machinery shown in the interior of the oil-cup is invented. That machinery consists of two valvestems, D and G, the upper end of. the latter screwing into the lower end of the former, as shown at H in the drawing.

E represents a valve, firmly attached to and moving with the stem D, and setting or closing upward, so that when closed it ett'ectually prevents the escape of any iiuid from one reservoir to the other.

L represents another valve, rmly attached to and moving with the lower stem, G. The stem G is square below the threads of the screw, and is accurately fitted to a square aperture in the plate n n, which covers the box K, and which is held firmly in a fixed position by teeth and sockets, or their eqiiivalents, at n n, that are not shown distinctly in the drawing. This cover being thus xed, the stein G, 'itself square, and moving in a square aperture in the cover, is equally xed and held in one position, while the upper stein, D, being round and movingin a circular aperture, can be turned at pleasure-an arrangeinent which enables us, by'tiirning the upper stem in one direction or the other, to increase or diminish at will the distance between the two valves E and L. The valve L sets or closes upward againstthe under side of the b ox K, forming, when closed, a part ot' the bottom of that box. so that when the valve is set or closed no tluid can pass between the boxes K and S. The valve itselt'is ot' a cylindrical form, and ts into the cylindrical box S so loosely as to permit the easy passage of Aany tluid between it and the walls of the box. The under side of the valve is cut with deep grooves or channels, the ends of which are represented at m m m, and which pass diametrically across it, intcrsectin g each otherin the center of the valve, at the upper end ot the tube C. By means of these channels, when the valve is depressed to the bottom ot' the box S, the communication is still kept open from the tube C to the space between the valve and the walls of the box S, and thence through the upper box, K, and the apertures I I into the globular reservoir B.

F is a spiral spring` attached to the under side of the upper valve, E,and surrounding the contiguous portions of both valve-stems D and G, when they are in position as shown in the drawing, in which position it presses firmly upon the cover n n ofthe box K. The object of this spring is to force the valves E and L upward andkeep them closed. If the tube C is connected with apparatus which al# lows it to be filled with the steam from the engine, the steam also presses the valve L upward and helps to keep it firmly set and closed. In this case, when the lower valve is open, the reservoirB becomes illed with steam, which may afterward be let oit' by the cock P, provided for the purpose. The whole lower portion of the apparatus, comprising the stein G, the box K and its cover n, the box S, and the metallic walls of the tube C, it will be observed, are connected together and can be together detached from the globular reservoir by unscrewing them, the thread of the screw by which they are attached to the reservoir at a a c a and the thread of the screw at the upper extremity of the 'stein G being of the same size, and screwing or unscrewing simultaneously and by the same movement. At b b b b are threads cut around the walls of the tube C, by which the whole apparatus can be screwed to the machinery upon which it is to work. This drawing represents the dit't'erent parts of my improved oil cup, as thus described, screwed together and ready for use.

' I) down iarther upon the upper part ot' the stem G, and causes the upper valve, E, to descend and open the passage between the two reservoirs. Meanwhile the spiral spring F, assisted by the steam below, keeps the lower valve closed. It', then, the upper reservoir, A, had been iilled with oil or other iluid, it would, upon thusmoving the handle It, tlow at once. into the lower reservoir and into the box K K, where it would be held. If, now, the motion of the handle Ris reversed, the stem D unscrews and rises, again closing the valve E, and cutting oit the communication between the reservoirs; but it' the handle be still further turned in the same direction, it is evident that the process ot' unscrewing the two val ve-stemsfroni each other still continues, and that since the valve E, now firmly set against the upper surface of the reservoir B, prevents theupper stem from rising any farther, the lower stem must begin to move in the opposite direction, or downward. This at once opens the passage below. The oil flows downward from the boX K K upon the upper surface of valve L. thence passes around the loosely-fitting sides ot' the valve into the lower part ot the boX S, thence under the valve, or, it' it is depressed to the bottom of the box, through the channels m m on to the tube C, thence. to the machinery, thus admitting the oil to the cylinder or machinery under any pressure of steam, without permitting the escape ofthe steam during the process.

Iam aware that an oil-cup in many respects similar to mine, containing the two reservoirs A and B and two valves with an upright sh aft occupying nearly the position which mine does, was patented June 22, 1858, by Messrs. Ross and Holland, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but without infringing upon that patent my invention accomplishes everything claimed for theirs, and has obvious advantages over it; and, rst, it is less liable to get out of order. In mine the unscrewing of the stems D and G can only be continued till the valve E is closed and the valve L is at the bottom otl the box S. In that of Messrs. Ross and Ho'lland, however, the screw-pl u g which takes the place of the stem G and the valve L in in v invention may be unscrewed so far as to fall out of its place and derange the working ot' the whole machinery. In the invention ot` Messrs. Ross and Holland the upper valve, which separates the reservoirs A and B, is actuated and held in position by a spring only. In mine, on the contrary,itis held in position by both a spring and a screw. In the t'oriner patent the spring is outside of the cup and exposed to the weather, and is liable to cor rode and get out of repair. In the invention for which I claim a patent, the spring `is secure'd from the action of the weather, and is constantly lubricated by the oil ot' the machinery. In the patent of Messrs. Ross and Holland the upright shaft corresponding to the stem I) of my invention incloses or keys7 upon the square screw-plug, and is not otherwise connected with it. In my invention it screws firmly to the lower stem, G, forming with it a durable and permanent connection, and strengthening the whole apparatus.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The arrangement, Within an oil-cup, of the valve L, or its equivalent, the valve stein-v G, and the cap N, as shown and described.

2. rIhe arrangement, within an oil-cup, ofthe stems G and D and their valves, when constructed and opera-ted substantially as shown and described.

THOS. W. GODWIN. Witnesses:

L. E. SouEs, LYSANDER, H1LL. 

